From Language to Culture: UIN SSC Welcomes SN-GES 2025 Awardees with BIPA Program
Cirebon, September 12, 2025 — The International Office of UIN Siber Syekh Nurjati Cirebon (UIN SSC) held a special session to socialize the Bahasa Indonesia untuk Penutur Asing (BIPA) program. The activity, which was part of the official orientation for Syekh Nurjati Global Excellence Scholarship (SN-GES) 2025 awardees, was attended by 8 international students, Lala Bumela Sudimantara, Ph.D. (Director of the International Office), Dr. H. Ayus Ahmad Yusuf, S.E., M.Si. (Vice Rector I of UIN SSC), Ivo Dinasta Yanuar, S.S., M.Appling. (Secretary of the International Office), Gina Amalia Sholihah, S.Sos. (International Office staff), and the Global Engagement Team (GET).
The session was delivered by Royani Afriani, M.Pd., Head of the BIPA Department at UIN SSC. In her presentation, Royani outlined the program’s vision to equip foreign speakers with communicative, effective, and adaptive Indonesian language skills, helping them navigate academic and social life in Indonesia. She also emphasized three operational missions: teaching through a communicative approach, integrating cultural understanding, and developing practical language use in both formal and informal settings.
Royani then introduced five BIPA learning options available for international students: BIPA Camp, BIPA Academy, Visiting to Pesantren, BIPA Berbagi, and BIPA Podcast. These programs are designed as flexible and supportive complements to formal learning while giving the students opportunities to practice Indonesian through cultural immersion, peer interaction, and digital media.
The international awardees from Thailand, Senegal, Yemen, and the Philippines, actively participated in discussions, vocabulary exercises, and reflections on communication challenges. Their diverse perspectives enriched the session, highlighting the importance of intercultural learning in academic life at UIN SSC. Several participants also shared their initial impressions of learning Indonesian, like the challenges of adjusting to new linguistic structures and the excitement of being integrated in local culture.
“The BIPA program is not just about learning a new language,” Royani said, “but also about building bridges of culture, communication, and community for our international students.” Her statement reflected the broader mission of UIN SSC as a globally engaged university that values inclusivity, diversity, and cross-cultural understanding.
The session concluded with a short Q&A, after which participants were informed that further administrative guidelines would be distributed via official email. The atmosphere throughout the event was warm and engaging, showing how the lecturers, staff, and the interns made an effort to ensure that the international students felt included. For the awardees, this session marked not only their first formal introduction to the Indonesian language, but also their first step in adapting to a new academic and cultural environment.
Author: Salsabilla